Meet the Mod: Doc O.B

Welcome, Explorers, to what we feel might be one of the most anticipated MtM interviews so far. In this interview by Questlog, Luffy, and The Fool, we’ll be learning more about Doc O.B., one of PQ’s most engaging moderators! We will be diving a little bit in his private life, finding out the inspiration behind his username, what motivates Doc to be as engaged as he is, and more!

Questlog: I’m pretty sure everyone in the Discord server has seen your name a million times and already knows a few things about you, but for due diligence, could you tell us a bit about yourself?

Doc O.B: My name is Alper, I am in my forties, and as my nickname suggests, I am a medical doctor. I am also studying Philosophy as my second degree. I am a family man, but used to party hard, live fast, but now I am old and wise 😛 I am the int. moderator of the Turkish community, and I write for the weekly story contests. I basically try to participate in everything related to PQ; I see this community as my second family. Oh, and I really like physical activity. I train 5 days a week and also  ride a dirt bike, but I can’t do the acrobatics, it’s just to commute and do some light endurance. I really like riding motorcycles too.

Questlog: That’s really cool! Although your name is pretty self explanatory, and you already told us a little bit about it, could you tell us why you chose this name?

Doc O.B: My nickname was oturtanboga (a wordplay of the indian chief sitting bull in turkish, which I can’t even try to explain) and at one event I raised my hand and they couldn’t pronounce it, so I added the ‘Doc’ part and shortened it so I can easily interact with anyone without worries about language barriers.

Questlog: So we finally know where that name comes from! Now a little about your time at PlanetQuest: What made you fall in love with PlanetQuest?

Doc O.B: This is easy, I always liked international communities, starting back with mIRC in dial-up times, but for the last ten years I was disconnected from that. When I joined PQ, I fell in love with the story, then the awesomeness of this great, international server where I can talk about the things I like with peoples of the world and learn new stuff from them. Then I started being here as much as I could; Cea and Danny Rush were there to help me engage even more. I then started translating stories, and by then I already knew it’s not the gamer in me, but the human in me that loves this. I felt great about belonging here, chatting, and helping when I could. I made great friends here, awesome human beings that are true sons and daughters of the stars we all come from… This place is not just another server for me. This is the server. I want to get old (older) and still be here with my great friends, bashing my brains at #pq-brain-games and writing pulp stories….

Questlog: You just mentioned ‘the gamer in me,’ and we know moderating a game with this much potential is a gamer’s dream. So, have you always been into games?

Doc O.B: I started playing games with a Commodore 64 and tapes and played lots of hours. I am not playing anything right now. WoW was the last game I played online, but that was before COVID, which made life very busy. Now I’m back, but my computer is what Retro calls a ‘potato,’ so no more AAA games for me.

Questlog: Then we should be glad PlanetQuest will run on even potato-setups! Outside of gaming, do you have any hobbies we just need to know about?

Doc O.B: I already told you about sports and bikes, but I also read a lot. I have an old dog and a mean cat, and my kid is five. They forbid him to run in daycare, so he takes it all out with me… My wife and I try to watch movies when we can, and finally, I like swimming in the open sea, so if I have the chance, I swim for 3-5 km. Oh, and many here already know that I am in love with music.

Questlog: Now that you mention music, you are always sharing lots of music over at the #general chat, so what type of music do you usually listen to?

I am an omnivore. I listen to nearly all kinds, but any sort of electronic music is especially welcome. Rock, punk, metal, and some blues… Mostly my mood dictates my choice of the day, but also what I am doing while I listen.

Questlog: You sound super passionate about the project, which probably contributed to your promotion to the Moderator role, so what is the best thing about being a Moderator for PlanetQuest?

Doc O.B: Being able to navigate around the server and talk in multiple threads is the best. I also love to contribute more, and moderation gives me a way to keep my beloved server free of bad actors.

Luffy: How do you find time to do all the Mod work in PQ?

Doc O.B: This is fun, and I love being here. I am glued to my phone anyway since I need to be available for emergency calls. I can compartmentalize my time and effort, so I can do a lot of stuff like Mod duty, translations, events, and my other duties like studying, training, and parenting.

The Fool: How often do you brush your teeth?

Doc O.B: Twice or more a day. I have a full set, including four wisdom teeth, so I try to look after them. But I broke one once while lifting weights—clenched too hard, so now I mind that.

The Fool: Oh wow, I’ve never heard of someone breaking his tooth like that. Are we gonna see a pic with a smile? 😂

Doc O.B: Even smiling you can’t see it.

Luffy: Tell us one thing about you that few people know?

Doc O.B:I did take a break from med school and hitchhiked with my tent and stuff along the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, working here and there for expenses…

Luffy: What would be your perfect day?

Doc O.B:I think there can be a lot of ways to have that day, like spending time with my family and friends at the beach or riding my motorcycle at some fire trails. Another one is reading an awesome book while listening to great music. I think we choose to perceive reality in a way that we can make it good or bad, so it’s up to us to feel the perfection of the days we live. 

The Fool:We can now travel to distant galaxies in a matter of years. We found a habitable planet, and the spaceship is leaving next month. Knowing you will never return to Earth, are you on that ship (family is coming with you)? If yes, what were you doing the last month on Earth? What do you take with you?

Doc O.B: Nope, I wouldn’t leave. Have you read The Martian? But if I were going to, I would take books and music, and a motorcycle as well, if I could. Those three things are my lifelines. I enjoy them too much to leave behind.

During my last month I would travel around to eat the things I would probably never eat again: roo meat, gator meat…but not that creepy egg/embryo thing.

Questlog:  What are you looking forward to the most when it comes to PlanetQuest?

Doc O.B: Planet surface views. I want to see what the Genesis engine can do there. And I also want to see more ‘Meet The Team.’ I really like to read about the incredible people working on this project. The thing I like to dream about is a blockbuster movie that I can watch with my kid and say “I was there at the beginning. We made it happen with your uncles Cea, Questlog, Flovster, Nikita, Luffy and Pancrudo and many more others. Sir Boslee the Great was there even before me….”

The Fool: If you had to convince as many people as possible to become PQ explorers, and you had the ability to write a message everyone in the world would see, what would you write?

Doc O.B: I would tell them about being an owner of a piece of the multiverse that would span movies, books, comics, and an awesome game. Talk about the real ownership and how empowering that really is, and how it opens up a new era in our understanding of games. I would tell them that it has already started with a decentralized storyline where we decide how things shape up in PQ and how much fun that is. Last, but maybe the most important, I would tell them about my PQ community, where I met great and creative people from all around the world, and how I feel like this server is my second family.

Interviewers: Questlog, Luffy, and The Fool
Interviewee: Doc O.B
Graphic: Luffy
Editing: Luffy, Crüniac, Questlog